Police remind residents to obey safety rules

Police are urging residents to obey instructions for safety under rocket fire.

According to a preliminary investigation of the rocket that fell in a residential neighborhood in Kiryat Gat, the 30-year-old man who was seriously wounded from shrapnel when the warhead detonated in the street outside had walked to his window in order to record what he expected to be an Iron Dome interception when the siren sounded.

He was thus exposed and vulnerable when the detonation sent shrapnel flying into nearby homes.

“We call on residents to listen to instructions, to go to protected rooms when sirens sound. Iron Dome works well, but it isn’t perfect,” notes Chief Superintendent Doron Ben Abu, spokesman for the Southern District of the Israel Police.

A senior officer in the IDF’s Home Front Command, Col. Yaron Bar Dayan, reiterated the warnings from the police. “Iron Dome isn’t perfect,” he says.

Even after successful Iron Dome interceptions, pieces of rockets — at times including unexploded warheads — could be falling from the sky. “Leaving the protected room before ten minutes have passed is dangerous,” warns Bar Dayan.